FEATURE REQ: [code] tags, syntax highlighting

noobs are continually posting mountains of unhighlighted code, and its just nearly impossible to read such messes without highlighting... i dont even want to try, it hurts my head.

making this worse is the people who need the most help are the same people who are the worst offenders. often times, their errors are something simple syntax or typo error, and could easily be spotted if we could just read it.

It's bad enough getting them to use [code] tags in the first place. But I cant keep bitching at new guys or gals because they dont know to use specific syntax highlighting.

SOLUTION:

by default, unspecificed [code] tags will *always* use the syntax highlighting for whatever the particular forum happens to be. this will be backwards compatible, because all specific code syntax will continue work as normal. if there's not already an option, allow something like to just be plain vanilla text.

noobs are continually posting mountains of unhighlighted code, and its just nearly impossible to read such messes without highlighting... i dont even want to try, it hurts my head.

Dammit jephthah, you're making me feel old now. When I started posting to forums there wasn't highlighting. We were thankful when there were code tags that actually kept formatting and didn't do HTML character replacement.

>and could easily be spotted if we could just read it.
Pretty colors help, but if it's that devastating to your efficacy, you really need to spend a few months with Notepad and a command line compiler.

>by default, unspecificed

tags will *always* use the syntax
>highlighting for whatever the particular forum happens to be.
I like this idea. Not because I have trouble reading non-highlighted code, but because it pisses me off every time I have to suffer some fool's decision to use cplusplus for the C++ category and constantly type [noparse][code=cplusplus][/noparse] if I want highlighting.[code]
tags will *always* use the syntax
>highlighting for whatever the particular forum happens to be.
I like this idea. Not because I have trouble reading non-highlighted code, but because it pisses me off every time I have to suffer some fool's decision to use cplusplus for the C++ category and constantly type [code=cplusplus] if I want highlighting.

* well, hell, i dont care really. im just trying to think of something that is easy to implement and wont break the existing pages. line numbers are fine.

^^ the point is, i just can't stand having to look at non highlighted code. its frustratingly unreadable. it makes no difference if i "used to" program BASIC on a green monochrome terminal.

people used to post to BBS and USENET using a 4800 baud modem. now are you gonna hate on them darn kids with their broadband and streaming video? syntax highlighting has been around 10 or 15 years. do you really want to go back? well lets go back to punch cards and paper tape, then

>do you really want to go back? well lets go back to punch cards and paper tape, thenYou lose. Though I do find it humorous that you chose to attack me even after I agreed that your idea is a good one. What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

Votes + Comments

jephthah:touche. but seriously, i didnt mean my post as a serious attack. sorry it seemed that way

although ... i guess if i look at my post now, it does seem a bit snarky. sorry. it wasnt meant to be taken serious.

just a comment that syntax highlighting is like any other thing such as broadband or cellphones... you don't think you need it, you think it's just a trivial thing, then you get used to it and you find that you cant live without it.